Dipifica Dippifica story: SIRDIP
by Pinkie The Mouse
Summary: Dipper has the skill and instinct, and Pacifica has the money to start and fund his business venture. Awesome picture by CookYllen! She said this was her favorite Dipifica / Dippifica story! (THANK YOU!) . NEW ADVENTURE! The Spirits of Big Sur, Chapter 15 now up! Sorry for the delay.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"You'll have one hundred percent return on your money within two years…or less!"

"Hmmm it does sound irresistible…but I keep control of business financials and expansion, and oversee all hiring and advertising."

"Pacifica, that leaves me only the core business control, the supernatural concepts and creativity, that is not being a business partner."

The two were at an impasse, sitting across from each other in cavernous library. Dipper Pines sitting, almost sunken, into the plush leather wing back chair, and Pacifica Elise Northwest reclining on the curvy velvet lavender chaise, flipping through Dipper's hard copy proposal. Five hundred thousand dollars to launch and fund operations for the first two years of the Supernatural Investigation and Resolution Dipper International Partners, SIRDIP. She closed the folder and threw it back at him Frisbee style. It hit his lap and he scrambled to keep the papers from flying.

"Fine, then leave. It's my way or the highway. With NO MONEY."

Dipper frowned and stood up. "Fine. Thank you for your time." And he turned away towards the door. Just as he was reaching for the doorknob she sighed.

"OK."

He turned around, keeping his best bartering frown even though his heart was pounding. _Yes! She is going to say yes!_

"OK _what?_"

She still wasn't looking at him. She was looking at her nails.

"OK, you can also say…have control over hiring. But nothing more."

"Hmmmm. I don't know." And he slowly turned towards the door again, one hand on his chin, looking up in thought, the other hand holding his proposal and almost reaching the doorknob. Then he heard her footsteps. _Oh oh. She is going to play hardball now._

He still faced the door as she came up behind him and then he felt her hands on his dark blue blazer covered shoulders. She was pressing herself against his back. Without turning around to look at her, he knew she was pressing her aquamarine figure hugging sleeveless dress against him. He had noticed its mid-thigh length when he first entered the room and knew she was going to press her "advantage" in negotiations, and so steeled himself for her feminine wiles as Grunkle Stan warned she may employ. Now leaning close to his ear she whispered.

"You'll never have this chance again Dipper. No one else would even entertain the thought of giving you a half million dollars for a gamble like this. You can make us both rich. Well, make me richer, but if you don't…well I hope you really like the smell of your Uncle's attic the rest of your life."

Then she began running her fingers through his hair on the back of his head. Then she changed from whisper to baby talk.

"Besides…don't you _want _to do business with me?" _She sounds so disappointed. But I know what you're after Pacifica._

He slowly turned around, and she adjusted herself to his front now, placing a leg to touch the inside of his knee, a hand on his neck and the other hand fondling his proposal.

"And a cut if you decide to sell the business."

"Hmmmm. OK." Looking down at his chest she placed her palm on his white shirt inside the blazer. He rolled his eyes. "I am probably gonna regret this."

She smiled. "Regret getting rich? I don't think so. Especially since that will put you…" and she stepped back and looked him up and down "...in my league." And she tapped his nose with a well-manicured finger.

"I'll have father wire the money to your account. Keep me updated." And she slowly walked away back to the chaise, a walk with the most admirable view her figure hugging dress could show.

Dipper smirked, and then turned around and left.

_I'm too smart to play that game. You're getting my business, not my heart._

He closed the door, loudly.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"You did good kid, real good!" Grunkle Stan proudly patted Dipper on the back as he welcomed him home.

"Well, thanks to your advice Grunkle. You were right: she tried to butter me up. I'm glad you prepped me for negotiations!"

"For a consulting fee of twenty five grand? Of course!"

"Oh yeah, about that…Can I pay you a thousand now and two thousand a month instead of lump sum? It's better tax wise that way for the business…"

"NO." Stan frowned, and then smiled. "I mean uh, can't really kid, 'cause if the business does poorly I may not collect the rest of my cash! _Er_…I mean, _fee_. No, just pay me now kid and get it over with and off the books haha."

Dipper sighed. He knew it was useless to argue money with Grunkle Stan. The old man had been salivating ever since the possibility of Pacifica entertaining the half million dollar deal proposal had come up.

"OK." Dipper couldn't really blame his Grunkle for wanting to get paid, after all the old man was getting even older and could no longer rustle up business the way he used to, with the result that the shack revenue had been dropping. Dipper and Mabel had stepped up to try and take up the slack, but Mabel sometimes hindered as much as helped, her work performance inconsistent when a new boyfriend came along, and Wendy had no stake in the business, and so never really got excited about doing anything more than just enough to do her job and collect a paycheck.

Soos always gave the Mystery Shack his all but after Dipper graduated from high school several years ago he moved up north to be with Melody. They were married last year and so Soos had his own life to look after now, but still he kept in touch.

So this deal with Pacifica was big. If his gamble paid off it would enable Grunkle Stan to retire in a couple of years and _he_ could finally get his own place, and then maybe…_maybe I can finally have time to find a girlfriend. _

…

"Father, here is the account information and routing number for the wire transfer."

"Oregon Bupkis Credit Union. _Humph._ Not even a reputable bank. Why must you do business with these…_kind_ dear? Especially when there are more respectable and financially stable partners out there to invest in? Like, like that boy…" her father snapped his fingers "…what's his name…" and he looked at his wife.

Pacifica's mother answered. "Fundshauser, Preston. Marious von Fundshauser. An old money family like us."

Pacifica sighed and rolled her eyes. _Curse the success trait of persistence! They never let up._

"Mother, old money doesn't come up with new ideas."

"But my dear Pacifica, new ideas are risky."

"But one cannot make money without risk father. You taught me that."

Her parents looked at each other and smiled.

"Well, this may be a good opportunity for you to learn an important financial lesson _on the job_ as it were. Very well. I'll have the transfer made this afternoon. If we wait until after 2 PM we get an extra day's interest on the half million dollars, about five thousand."

"Yes father. Thank you." And she turned around, and walked across the imported stone tile floor of her father's office to the central stairway to her bedroom suite.

_No one else has Dipper's ideas, experience or skill. It *has* to be him. Everyone else , the old money families are more cooperative, but their ideas are boring: sure fire success but with small margins, and a lot of competition in popular, oversold markets. Dipper…he has vision. No one else does what he does. And besides…it's kind of fun working with someone who isn't a yes man. He…disagrees with me! Not afraid to stand up for his position. That…that's ambitious. An ambitious man is a successful man. And…maybe even sexy. _And she smiled as she climbed the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Look out! He's got the Gatorade shoes on! Must be 10:30 haha!"

"Yeah, this magnificent example of humanity doesn't grow itself! Oh wait, it did." And Dipper smiled at Wendy Corduroy as he knelt down on one knee to double tie his laces on bright fluorescent-green running shoes.

Wendy admired the young man that she had befriended nine years ago. Dark forest green running shorts and a white tank top with a large green question mark on the front and back, free advertising for the Mystery Shack, had been her idea when he started running as a way to clear his mind and deal with the stress of taking over more and more of the business end of his Grunkle Stan's livelihood. _He has developed quite nicely. Yum yum! Nice calves…thighs…eyes…my oh my!_

But somehow their friendship never went beyond anything more since Wendy had made it clear that she was "too old for him" all those years ago. As a result their friendship became even more trusting and fun, since romance was no longer threatening on the edges.

_But lately he is looking good. Why doesn't he have a girlfriend by now? I can tell that even Pacifica likes him although she will never admit it. But…if he married her somehow he wouldn't need to work anymore and I would be out of a job. _Being older than Dipper, Mabel and Pacifica gave Wendy more insight into their little dramas.

"See ya in an hour Dip."

"Bye, and uh, if anyone calls for me…"

"Dipper please, I got this, kay? You should know by now man, don't stress out. Enjoy your run!"

"Haha yeah, I know. Thanks Wendy." And with a few deep breaths and a high five to Wendy he ran out the door.

The freckled redhead leaned back and took her feet off the step stool under counter and propped them up on the same counter. Dipper had made the step stool for her to keep her feet off the counter ("Customers don't like to see that Wendy, Use it for me? Please?"). _I feel like more of a big sister to him than any potential partner. I think it's for the best, his mind gets…too busy for me. Always stressing out about little nit picking details, like putting my feet on the counter. That's Dipper! Ha._

He had also bought uniforms for her and Mabel, which were a little uncomfortable when buttoned up, and so another Dipper "rule" she would break when he wasn't around was to unbutton the top three buttons of her "Shack Suit", carnation colored knee length dresses with short puffy sleeves and buttons all the way down, and the collar always irritated her neck. It wasn't tight…unless she was leaning back.

When she complained about wearing it he responded "People think they are going back in time when they visit the shack, so it helps the experience. They will buy more."

_He has a lot of his Grunkle in him. Good thing too, he saved the business and my job!_ She opened this month's Gravity Falls Gossiper and relaxed.

…

The overcast sky and occasional drizzled coolness was no distraction to Dipper after the first five minutes of running, he warmed up quickly. In fact the water laden Oregon air he breathed in and out helped cool him. Still he huffed and puffed as he ran, to help keep his rhythm as he ran.

_She hasn't called or emailed me since depositing the money three days ago, if it were me I would have called the next day. Must be nice to be wealthy enough to not be concerned about a half million dollars!_

_It's better this way anyway, I want her first update to be the advertising proposal, and then the main entrée: the Fullerton Rail Project attacks win! Seventeen thousand dollars, not bad for the first job, an actual city, a government bid that I won just over email, mail and phone. With FRP as a reference the bigger jobs will come._

He then reached the path that took him up the hill, past the Northwest mansion. It was walled off of course but over the years paths had been worn by average people of the Gravity Falls who came to try and gawk at the only affluence in town.

_I wonder why they never moved somewhere else? They don't' have to live here, they can afford to live in Portland, or anywhere they want to. Oh wait…yeah, Pacifica said it's their summer home. Huh._

He reached the first corner of the mansion grounds and then began the large rectangular jog along the perimeter wall.

_The Fullerton Rail Project is an interesting job too: The attacks of sabotage make sense, a lot of people were evicted through eminent domain and thrown out of their houses for the project. So motive is predictable. But the radios? That doesn't make sense. Why do the local radios all turn on right after an attack? And with a lot of static and distant voices? This spooky terrorism is losing support for the rail, the locals are already saying they won't ride it for fear of the train being derailed once its built and running. It's why they hired us. I can't wait to get there! After plane fare and hotel expenses we will only clear about ten thousand or so but it will put us on the map!_

He now reached the second corner, and was now about to run along the back of the estate. And there around the corner, in a lilac running suit and white baseball cap, blonde ponytail poking out through the back and white running shoes was Pacifica, jogging in place.

_What? _

"I asked you to keep me updated. Since Dipper won't come to the mountain, the mountain comes to Dipper. " He didn't stop and she started running alongside him.

"How did you know I was going to be here now?"

"You run every day at 10:30. How can anyone miss it?"

"How did you know I run at 10:30? And how did you now I would be _here?_"

"Dipper please, you think you can run through my property without me noticing?"

"Not through it Paz, around it."

"_Don't _call me that."

"Sorry. _Around_ your property, Pacifica Elise _Northwest._"

Still running alongside him along the long wall she looked away from him and huffed. "_Humph_. Update. Now."

"Well I was hoping to give you an impressive update with…"

"You can't impress me."

"…_WITH_ the very good news of a small but strategically important win."

She looked at him with doubt in her eyes then looked forward as they continued running.

"How small?"

_She keeps up with me without even trying. She must run too but I never see her running anywhere._

He looked at her then looked forward. "Seventeen grand, less expenses." Then he slowly turned to her to receive judgment. She was still looking forward. But…she was…

She was smiling. There was something in her eyes, a sparkle. Then the smile vanished. She looked at him again as they neared the halfway point.

"When?"

"I fly tomorrow."

"Where?"

"Fullerton California. Railway getting sabotaged, but also all the local radios turn on after an attack, and those already on get static. With voices. The rail is losing business and it hasn't even opened yet." He glanced at her again. She was looking forward, her lips blowing as she breathed in through the nose and out through the mouth as all serious runners do. He couldn't stop staring at her pink lips as she blew.

"You run a lot don't you?"

"Same as you."

"I never see you run. Where do you run?"

"Here. See this path?"

"Yeah?"

"I made it. With my feet dummy."

He smiled and looked forward again. He could tell from the corner of his eye that she turned to look at him too. He looked back at her.

"You keep up pretty good."

She looked back at him, still not smiling. "I'm slowing down for you."

Now he looked at her without smiling. She looked back without smiling either. _She's serious. Let's see how serious!_

He opened up and began running as fast as he could, and sure enough she turned on her speed too, and then began pulling ahead of him! With a _flick flick flick_ her shoes kicked up dirt almost in his face as her arms also chopped the air to keep up with her legs rapid rhythm.

_Wow!_

By the time he reached the third corner she was almost half way down the side the wall and still accelerating. By the time he reached half way of the side wall she was around the corner.

By the time he reached the fourth corner he slowed to a walk to catch his breath and keep from cramping up. He looked towards the entrance and there she was, butler in attendance with a silver tray of water bottles and towels.

He smiled as he eventually walked up to her and shook a pointed finger at her.

"You…_huff… huff…huff_…you're good."

"Not good. Better." She took a swig of water. Dipper watched her as she wrapped her lips around the water bottle.

Then he waved her off, his other hand on a hip and looking down and now away as he walked in a slow semicircle, still catching his breath.

"OK…_huff…huff…huff_…better." He turned back around to look at her and then walked up to the butler who offered a bottle on the tray. Opening his bottle he looked at her and she looked back without a flinch. _Her upper lip…a little sweat dew there…but she isn't wiping it with the towel._

She took another swig and then spoke.

"Now, keep…me…_updated._ Got it?"

"Yes, Pacifica Elise Northwest." And he smiled.

She let just a little smile show as she lowered her eyes at him, and then turned around and walked towards the entrance. _Slowly._

_Still has that walk, dress or jogging suit!_ Dipper smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

That evening upstairs in the shack attic bedroom Dipper went through his luggage inventory one more time, checking off his list to make sure he had everything he needed for a week, maybe two. He had changed out of his running gear and showered long ago and was wearing blue jeans and a light blue long sleeve oxford shirt with top sider shoes, his usual shack uniform. Then he heard Mabel calling from downstairs:

"Dipper! Dinner's ready!"

_Huh? I don't even smell anything cooking._ He went downstairs.

There in the living room with Mabel was Pacifica in light blue capris pants, a white knit turtleneck, an oversized white ski cap with a large embroidered blue star on it, her blonde hair flowing out from under and her hands in the pockets of a suede jacket. He looked at Mabel who just smiled and then looked back at Pacifica.

"What are you doing here?"

"Dinner time, my treat. I want you to brief me on your contacts, plan and ETA."

Dipper smiled. "Well, we can expense it and let the business pay for it."

"My business needs the write off more than yours."

He shrugged. "I'm easy. Let's go Mabel." But Pacifica held up a hand to Mabel, stop sign style.

"Sorry Mabel, just your brother and I, business discussion only otherwise I can't write it off."

"Awwww." Mabel looked at Dipper with her best puppy dog eyes. Dipper looked at Pacifica's stone face and then turned sad eyes to her and smiled.

"Sorry sis. Not tonight."

But Mabel's smile returned. "Aw, it's OK. I had to try! Have fun you two."

Pacifica corrected her. "It's a business dinner Mabel. Not fun."

And she turned and walked out the door, giving Dipper his first view of how tight her blue capris pants were.

_Painted on! _He smiled.

He followed her into the back of the limo and the chauffer closed the door.

Now that they were alone as they pulled away Dipper felt that she might relax and maybe they could have at least a little fun.

"So where did you have in mind? Smokey Joe's?"

"As if! We're going to my place."

"Really? What's on the menu?"

"Taco Bell."

She said it looking straight ahead and with such deadpan delivery he thought she was serious.

"Really? You're catering in Taco Bell?"

She turned to him and then slowly smiled. He realized he had been taken and smiled back. She looked straight ahead again.

" I think Henri' has prime rib with mushrooms and asparagus tonight on the menu. You're not vegan are you?"

"No, it sounds delicious!"

She smiled. "Aren't you going to ask about dessert?" She lowered her eyes.

_Is she…flirting with me? We're not negotiating anything, is she just saying that….just to say it?_

"Uh…OK…what's for dessert?"

She turned away from him and looked out the window and then crossed her legs.

"Sweets."

He saw her refection in the window. She had been watching him. When he made reflected eye contact with her he saw her reflection smile.

…

They arrived at the mansion and were driven down the side access road which led to the backyard (if ten acres of back yard could be called that) and then stopped. The driver got out and opened the door, and Dipper could see the stone pavers led to a small table for two next to the garden fountain, where a waiter and chef were standing at the ready. A silver Tuscany ice bucket on a stand obviously held a bottle of what appeared to be champagne.

"Well, have to admit this looks appetizing!"

"Of course it is. It's supposed to be."

The waiter began to pull out the plush armchair for Pacifica but then Dipper gently nudged the waiter aside and then looked at her. "Allow me."

Her eyes widened. "Well. Thank you." She turned around to sit and Dipper then knew that this had to be the slowest he had ever seen a woman position and place her derriere onto a chair. A derriere wearing painted on capris. That did not hide any curves. At all. _Any_where. He scooted her close to the table.

The waiter looked at Pacifica and she nodded. With expert and experienced flair he picked up and opened the bottle of champagne and then poured the bubbly into her glass flute and then Dippers.

Then she spoke to the chef. "Go ahead Henri'."

"Very well miss." The chef then turned to Dipper with a slight bow as he spoke.

"Tonight we begin with your choice of lettuce wedge, Caesar salad or garden salad. Then for the entrée we proudly serve prime rib roast, from rare to the end cut, served with mushrooms sautéed in burgundy and peppered butter, garden fresh asparagus and creamed spinach, baked potato, baked sweet potato, and rice." Then he stood up straight, silent.

Dipper looked at Pacifica. "What's for dessert?" and he smiled. The chef turned to look at Pacifica and bowed waiting for her response, and without smiling she turned to Henri.

"Surprise us."

"Very well miss." And then both the waiter and chef left them alone in their garden dining room.

Dipper looked at her, listening to the water splashing in the fountain, and also heard a peacock croon now and then. She stared right back at him. Finally she leaned forward, and he did too, still silent.

"Who, what and how? Now." She sat back in her chair after she said it.

Dipper sat back, somewhat disappointed. He hadn't expected her to get down to business so soon. He sighed.

"Gina Witron is the project manager. I dropped your dad's name as a reference and when she called him your dad actually put in a good word for me."

"Of course. He doesn't want his half million wasted."

Dipper smirked. "I dropped his name _after_ I had already won her word on the deal informally. Your dad's reference was merely a formality for the bidding oversight process. I won the deal without him." He sipped the champagne and then looked at the tiny bubbles flowing upward as they glinted in the fountain's display lights. _Good stuff!_

She sipped too and then began running a finger down the side of the fluted glass.

"What do you think is happening, and how are you going to attack the problem?"

His eyebrows furrowed in uncertainty.

"There are possibilities, both supernatural and…man made…that could explain it. But I need to be there to take measurements and see what my instruments tell me before I can say for sure. But the sabotage…is very likely human." And he sipped again, and then looked at her through the glass, and was surprised to see concern on her face.

"Dipper, if it _is _someone bent on revenge against the project, they may also attack anyone associated with it_. Please_ be careful."

He looked up over the glass at her. Her concern did not fade. _She is sincere._

It was during the rare moments, moments that did happen once in a great while during the past nine years of their acquaintance, no, their _friendship_, that he knew she really was a good person deep inside. _She isn't like her parents._

"I will Pacifica. I'll be OK." and he lifted his glass in toast. Smiling again she lifted her glass too and joined him.

"To SIRDIP!"

"To SIRDIP!"

And with glasses clinking they swallowed the rest of their champagne.

…

"…and they found the raw turkey carcass at the bottom of the dumbwaiter! The place reeked for days! Good thing we have two kitchens HAHAHA!" and Pacifica laid a hand on his arm as he held his…fifth? sixth? …glass of the bubbly. He wiped his tears with his other hand, tears from laughing so hard.

"Oh my gaw Pacifica, oh my gaw, rotten turkey, ROTTEN turkey! HAHA!" And then he sat his glass down and stood up, placing his hands in his armpits and began flapping his elbows.

"I…..I….am the ghost of turkeys PAST! GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE ! HAHA!"

"Oh my gaw Dipper! HaHaHA STOP! Oh my gaw STOP hahahaha!" and she laid her head on the table laughing, fist pounding the table. Then she looked up again, tears streaming from her eyes as she smiled.

"Heehee! Ohhhhh yes! It was hilarious!"

Then Henri' the chef appeared with a tray while the waiter was holding a _…is that a blowtorch?_ Dipper became confused and sat back down.

"Crème Brulee."

The chef placed two small trays in front of each of them, trays of yellow cream. Then the waiter ignited the blow torch and handed it to the chef, who then proceeded to blowtorch the exotic dessert with circular motions until the tops of each bubbled and turned a slight brown. He then turned off the torch and handing it to the waiter bowed. "Enjoy." And the waiter and chef again left them alone.

"You know Paz…Pacifica…You need to be careful too."

She hiccuped and then her smile turned to a frown as she picked up her dessert spoon.

"I do …(_hic)_ do?"

"Yes…(_hic)_…you do…(_hic)_"

"Why? (_hic)_"  
Dipper pointed in the direction of the departed waiter and chef.

"Because…(hic)…I think they're a couple of… _PYROS!_ (_hic)_"

"HAHAHA! Oh my gaw Dipper you're not only handsome, you are _SOOO FUNNY_! HAHA _hic_."

"And you are not only deliciously lovely but contagious_. (hic)_…(_hic)_"

She smiled "Aw thank you…" then she frowned. "Waitaminutewaitaminute…con_tag_ious? (_hic)_"

"Yah. Con_TAG_ious…(_hic)_…your…(_hic)_…hiccups! (_hic)_"

"HAHAHA!" and she slapped the table. "Hahah (_hic)_ haha _hic)_"

Then she slowed to a smile, and looked at him, slowly blinking through glassy eyes, her head beginning to wobble.

"You think…I'm delishhhhhhously…(hic) lovely?"

"Indeed I do…(hic)" And he got up and walked over to her side of the table, and sat on her lap.

She swatted his leg as she looked at her squashed lap. "Dipper, you're…you're too… too…"

Then she looked up at him as he placed his arms around her. "Oh…sorry Paaa…." And he leaned down and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him. _He tastes like champagne. Yummmy_.

Then she broke off the kiss. "Ow! Dipper really honey you're too heavy! Get off!" and she tried pushing him off. He got up and on wobbly legs walked back over to his chair but then turned around.

"You're… you're a good kisser!"

"Hmmmm so are you." And she got up and walked up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"But Dipper…"

"Yeah Paaaaaaaacifica baby?"

"We're drunk!"

"So? (hic)"

She looked down. "Weeeeee really shouldn't be doing this…"

"We shouldn't? (hic)"

"Nooooooo." And now her baby talk was really pronounced. " I want you to kiss me when we're _not_ drunk…"

"Ohhhhhhhhh okaaaaaaaay." And he kissed her again. They began rocking back and forth in each other's arms as they kissed.

…

Dipper considered skipping his running routine here in Fullerton. When the flight descended over Los Angeles and then landed at Orange County he saw nothing but concrete and steel outside the plane window, with highways and buildings, homes and maybe a few parks here and there. The drive in the rental car from the airport to Fullerton was nothing but non-stop freeways and roads, power lines and people, stop lights and stores…this was complete culture shock for him compared to Oregon. And the _people_…He thought Pacifica was unfriendly, but this…this was what it was liked to be ignored, disrespected and almost run over!

_Pacifica has traveled the world and has been to Southern California many times, no wonder she has become competitive... I guess we are all lucky she is as nice as she is considering the rest of the metropolitan world's rude self-centeredness!_

He finally found the train station: construction efforts were still adding the finishing touches but it looked old: the architecture was turn of the century California complete with already matured King Palm trees, almost mission style, but with air conditioning, electric vehicle charging stations and free Wi-Fi.

He walked to the construction superintendent trailer parked at the far end of the lot, and knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

Dipper peeked in the door, and a couple of men in hardhats turned to him, one in a suit, the other in orange safety vest.

"Hi! I'm Dipper Pines. I am looking for Gina Witron?" and he presented his SIRDIP business card.

The two men looked at each other. "You haven't heard?"

"Heard? Heard what?"

"She's in the hospital. She was assaulted."

Dipper's mouth dropped open.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Miss Pacifica Elise Northwest's slumber was interrupted by the help, the maid having entered and then opened the drapes of her large view window, and that of her balcony's French doors, morning sunlight glinting in spectral rainbows from the leaded glass, and then bowing to the young heiress said _Good Morning_ softly, and then left to fetch the breakfast tray.

Pacifica rolled over, and now realizing it was a new day, with eyes still closed smiled at the memory of the old day.

_MMMMmmm he finally kissed me! Yummmmm. _She rolled over to the other side, stretching.

_He was so funny last night. But we shouldn't have drunk so much champagne._ She rubbed her eyes and yawning, looked outside as she continued her recollection of last night.

_We finally crossed that line! Our flirting had almost been taken for granted as routine over the years, without any follow through, and I almost gave up on him, but thank goodness I am persistent! Mmmmmm. He has strong arms. When he hugged me…It felt so goooooooood_. She closed her eyes again and burrowed back down into her blankets_. I can't wait for him to come back._ She looked out her window and saw two sparrows fly by her balcony. _My little friends. One of these days I've got to stop feeding them crumbs._

Getting up at last as the maid brought in breakfast, she tied her sash on the robe, stepped into her slippers and walked from the bed to her private patio, where the help had just placed the morning papers and breakfast on the glass topped and white painted wrought iron table. She sat down, and pushing aside the _Gravity Falls Gossiper_ she found what she was looking for: _The Los Angeles Times_. Opening it to the local news section, she picked up her café latte and began reading, and then with wide eyes she promptly, simply and quietly dropped her latte on the floor, sweet smelling coffee steaming into the crisp cool Oregon air as the now chipped porcelain cup lay on its side.

_RAIL PROJECT MANAGER LATEST VICTIM AS VANDALISM ATTACKS BECOME VIOLENT, CITY OFFERS REWARD_

Her chair falling backwards loudly as she leapt from it she ran back into her bedroom for her cell phone.

…

"Can you show us your plane tickets so we may see proof of your arrival time and city of departure? Just routine of course."

"Of course, here it is, and my return ticket too. I am sorry to hear what happened, she is a very important Customer of mine. I would like to visit her if possible. Which hospital is she at?"

"Sorry, we're keeping her location secret in case the attacker wants to finish the job."

The two officers both read Dipper's tickets and then returned them. They photographed him as well and entered his ID and number into the police data tablet, then handed over his ID together with a business card.

"Here is my card and contact info. If you see anything suspicious, or are preparing to leave town, please call us."

"I will officers. Thank you ."

Then they turned and nodded to the hard hat man in the suit, and left the trailer.

Dipper turned to his new contact. "Mr. Schmidt, if I may ask…"

"Please, call me Arthur." And the slightly heavy, slightly balding dark haired man in the brown suit smiled.

"…Arthur…did Gina leave you details and paper work about my investigation? Would you like me to go over my purpose and work since you are taking over for her?"

"Yes, she did, but why don't you explain it to me while I take you on a tour of the project grounds and show you the damage sites?"

"Very good." And they stepped out of the trailer.

"Here, put this on. State law."

Dipper accepted the hard hat and adjusting it with his own tablet under his arm he managed to connect the chin strap.

"Haha! You don't have to clip that on if it is uncomfortable. None of us do." And he smiled.

"Oh, OK, thanks."

Arthur put an arm around Dipper's shoulder and directed him to a large metal cabinet set in concrete.

"Here is where the first attack took place. This provides power wiring for the rail switching solenoids and warning lights."

Dipper looked at the green painted formidable thick steel cabinet that stood about ten feet high, sitting on a thick concrete slab.

"Looks OK, you repaired it well."

Arthur shook his head. "We haven't fixed it yet." And grasping the large metal handle he pulled it down and opened the heavy metal door, squeaking with weight as it opened.

Inside were the remains of many heavy thick cables that had obviously melted into a copper pool at the bottom of the cabinet, the smell of burnt insulation and rubber still stinking. Dipper turned to Arthur.

"It melted…from the inside?"

"Looks that way. No evidence of fire on the outside as you can see."

Dipper took out his custom tablet and turned it on, and loaded his special SIRDIP app.

He then plugged in a USB antenna, and then started the app. A virtual gauge appeared and with various other bar graphs and real time plots, but as he looked at them he shook his head.

"Whatever it was it's gone now. No activity at all."

Arthur closed the door. "Now check this out…"

A few yards away from the cabinet, he pointed out an electric company power meter on the side of the passenger ticketing booth, a small building next to the main passenger waiting area. At first Dipper did not see anything wrong with the small glass bubble and the meter behind it, but as he looked closer he saw that at the bottom of the glass a small pool of molten metal that had cooled and solidified in a silvery puddle.

"Whoa! That…that is messed up!" Again he held up his tablet, and again there were no readings.

"No electric fields, no magnetism, no ionization…nothing."

Now the suited hard hat manager looked at Dipper with squinting eyes.

"Now what would get hot enough to melt metal, but not burn anything around it? Eh?"

"I don't know. But I am going to try and find out." Then Dipper became very concerned and looked up at Arthur.

"How…how was Gina hurt? Was she burned by any chance?"

"Yes. In her mouth."

"Her…mouth?"

"Yes. She had braces."

Dipper's eyes grew wide for the second time that day.

…

"Old TV's? You mean pre-flat screen?"

"Yes! As many as you can spare. Do you think you have at least a dozen?"

"No way. Maybe a half dozen."

"How much?"

"You can have them for free. I can't get rid of them without paying the city a toxic disposal fee."

Dipper smiled. "Thanks!"

Dipper managed to load them all in the rental car and drove back to the hotel, and after much heavy lifting back and forth he got them all plugged into his hotel room. One by one he made sure they turned on and lit up the screen with homogenous white static. They only had static but the white static on their screens was what he wanted. _Exactly_ what he wanted.

…

"You want them…outside? Without plugging them in?"

"Yes. They don't need to be plugged in for what I want to do with them. I just need them placed at these locations, and then a cardboard box placed over each, so no one knows they're TVs."

Arthur rubbed his chin puzzled. "OK, show me where you want them and I'll get someone to move them."

…

That night as he sat in the rental car parked across the street from the project construction property, the cheeseburger and fries were almost good enough to change Dipper's mind about Southern California. _At least there is a lot of good food down here, and a dozen different burger places! Tomorrow I'll check out the Mexican food for stakeout dinner…_

He reached over and grabbed the binoculars and looked closely at one of the distant TV's disguised as a cardboard box. He was adjusting the focus when suddenly the view was blurred by something blue. He looked up.

"Like what you see?"

"Pacifica? What…what are you doing here?" Then frowning he put the binoculars down. "Are you checking up on me? Hope you are not planning on micromanaging me…"

"Unlock the car. Let me in."

He did so and then she got in, scooting over and pushing fast food debris, binoculars and a tablet over with her blue denim shorts to make room. She was wearing a sunflower print midriff, her tummy looking well-tanned, and yellow knit hat, sandals, and a denim purse over her shoulder._ I haven't seen her this casual since the last summerween festival. _She closed the door and then turned to face him. Dipper was expecting her usual serious face, but…_she is worried_. _And…is she going to kiss me?_

She was leaning towards him puckering, eyes almost pleading. He leaned to her and then hesitated, and searched her eyes, and she pulled back a little too, but not much, hovering near him. Then he looked back down at her lips and slowly made contact. As her soft lips conformed to his he felt her hand on his shoulder. So he reached to her and placed his hand on her neck. She hummed and purred and then slowly broke apart.

"Mmmmm…even better without champagne. I told you." And she smiled.

"You're always right." He said, and she smiled more broadly, lips parting to show perfect teeth, white even in the nighttime street lighting. But he continued: "Except when you're wrong." And she frowned, eyes wide, pulling back.

"When?"

"Now. You shouldn't be here. It's become dangerous."

"That is _exactly_ why I am here. I just got you, I am _NOT _going to lose you now."

Dipper smiled. _She…just…got…me? She wants me! She…wait a minute Dipper, she has flirted before…but…this is more than flirting…she *cares* about me…we're…a …thing…now…?_

"Something wrong Dip?" He realized his expression was stunned. He smiled and leaned to her again, but she smiled and leaned back away from him, teasing. He reached forward and grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her towards him as she started giggling. He kissed her and she stopped giggling and wrapped her arms around his neck, and started purring again.

"Mmmmmm."

_SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!_

The lovers broke apart and stared at the car radio with surprise. It was _hissing!_

_SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!_

Dipper looked across the street and grabbed the binoculars. The temporary outdoor lighting set up for construction began flickering and then went out in a bright blue flash that scared Pacifica. She let out a brief but loud squeak and then ducked, peeking above the door window, as Dipper scanned the site trying to focus the lens, then all was dark. The binoculars were of no use now in the blackness.

The radio was silent now too. For what seemed forever the couple stared across the street, holding each other but nothing moved. Then Dipper began looking at the car radio. "I never turned it on. How did it come on by itself?"

He turned it on now, and normal FM stations and music were heard. He turned it back off.

"Pacifica, you stay here. I am going to inspect my traps."

"Traps?"

"Yes_. Stay here_!"

He got out and then shut the door and turned to face her. "Lock the doors." And slowly he began walking to the site.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Dipper had forgotten how bright the tablet display was as he scanned around, approaching the first box covered TV.

_Nothing…now._

He turned it off to return to darkness so his own eyes could see, but there was nothing but quiet. But then…. Voices! Voices of…concerned people? He saw flashlight beams from the other side.

"_HALT!_ Security! Put your hands up!"

"Hi, it's me, Dipper Pines, SIRDIP investigations."

The security guards shined the light on his face and recognized him.

"Did you guys see the flash too?"

"Yes, and our walkie-talkies turned on with static."

"I don't think they turned on. I think I know what happened."

Pacifica saw the lights shining on Dipper and scooted over to the driver seat and turned on the car, and drove across the street to the site parking lot, headlights on bright beams, illuminating the guards. _Whew!_ _Security!_

Dipper told the guards the approaching car was with him. She parked and got out and walked up to Dipper, holding his arm and shoulder and looked at the box.

Dipper handed his tablet to her and then lifted the cardboard box off the TV.

She was puzzled. "What's with the vintage TV? Abandoned?"

Dipper then picked up the TV and carried it over to the wall of the passenger building, next to the nearest wall power outlet, and setting it down, he plugged it in.

"What are you doing?"

"Going to see what's on the supernatural channel. Watch."

The TV flickered to life, white noise emanating from the speaker and static predictably displayed on the screen. _BUT_…where before it was a uniform whiteness, now there was a vertical rainbow across the static display! The rainbow colors themselves remained in place as static was displayed behind it. One of the guards pointed.

"Hey! That…that reminds me…that happened to my grandfather's TV when I was a kid. I had been playing with a horse shoe magnet and held it too close to the screen…and it did that!"

Dipper nodded. "Yep. It needs to be…"

"Degaussed!"

"Yep. Degaussed. " Dipper turned to Pacifica. "Only a very powerful magnetic field could have done that. I bet the other TV's are the same. If a magnetic field is strong enough, it can induce a current in anything metallic, current large enough to even melt metal, like blowing a fuse. A powerful magnetic current also induced current in every speaker within reach, driving the speaker circuit without being turned on."

The two guards looked at each other and then back at Dipper. "What should we do?"

"Let's plug in the other TVs."

…

"So the TV's were not a trap but…kind of a detector?" The police officer looked puzzled.

"Not kind of…they are detectors."

In the construction trailer Arthur was puzzled too, and scratched his head and then looked back up at Dipper and Pacifica.

"I'm glad Gina hired you guys. This is the most progress we have made on this case. OK, so…what do we do now?"

"We need more electronics, but this time we are going to find out _where_ it is coming from. This will have to be expensed."

"We'll pay for it. What equipment do you need?"

…

The construction superintendent had the magnetometers placed exactly at the locations Dipper indicated on the blueprints for the site. Dipper then checked they were on and calibrated, and then looked up at the security guards.

"Make sure no one touches these."

"Will do."

He turned to Pacifica and smiled. "How about lunch. Your treat."

She smiled and took his hand. "I think your recent efforts deserve it."

They began to walk to the car holding hands but Dipper pulled her away.

"Let's walk down the block, there is a Mexican restaurant there, the aroma from it has been begging me to try it!"

"Sure, I love California style Mexican food."

As they entered the place, they were greeted by a smiling young man with a strong accent, one could smell tamales, cilantro, spices…the toothsome smells made Dipper stomach growl.

"Welcome! Sit anywhere you like."

Dipper noticed the soccer game playing on the television mounted on the wall near the ceiling. The changing images played behind a superimposed vertical rainbow. He pointed the TV out to Pacifica.

She looked and then looked back at him as they sat down in a booth across from each other, chips and salsa on the table. The young waiter brought them menus. They thanked him and then Pacifica looked at Dipper, holding his hands above the table.

"The magnetism reached all the way over here."

"Yes. And notice the rainbow is in the same direction. The field comes and goes, but it is always in the same direction."

"Fields have directions?"

"Yes. North pole circles around to the South pole, plus and minus. The direction between the north and south is perpendicular to the temporary Gaussing effect on the TVs."

"Perpendicular? So…the field is…horizontal?"

"Yes. A strong, powerful and horizontal field."

"But…what could make such a large field?"

"I don't know yet, but it would have to have a large metal…_CORE!_" Dipper's eyes grew wide. He grabbed Pacifica's hand and got up and started running out the door.

"Senor! Senorita!"

"Sorry! Uh…we'll be back later!" and then Dipper ran back to the table and left a couple dollars on the table, and grabbed a handful of chips. Then they ran outside.

…

"Dipper! What…?" He kept pulling her as they ran together.

Arriving back at the site, Dipper ran past the magnetometers, right up to the train rails. He looked them over and started walking, following them. He came to the end of the rails in the construction site, they were going nowhere, but across the public street full of traffic, were the continuation of the rails, waiting for a day when traffic could be temporarily halted, and the final rails laid to connect them.

He then turned around, Pacifica following behind stepping gingerly on the railroad ties to avoid the rock pumice in between, and also scanning the rails.

"What…what are we looking for?"

"Cables. Wires. Something connected to the rails. Something that can supply electricity…"

Pacifica's eyes grew wide and she smiled. "Of course! The rails themselves! They are the source?"

"Exactly. Someone knows what they're doing."

The two kept walking and now were leaving the construction site as they were now following the previously laid and signed off part of the rail, it obviously could go on for miles.

Dipper stopped and looked down the rails into the distance.

"There must be a break somewhere!"

He turned around and ran back to the construction trailer and opened the door. Looking inside at the staff he asked "Is there an volt-ohmmeter somewhere here?"

Returning to the rails with the meter, he set the control to low impedance, and gave the red probe to Pacifica.

"Hold this on the rail."

She crouched down and connected the probe to the rail, apprehension in her face as she slowly touched the probe tip to the rail, almost expecting a spark, and relieved when nothing happened. Then Dipper crouched down too and took the black probe and touched the other rail. The meter needle jumped to life and Dipper smiled.

"Eight ohms. They have it connected even now, just not turned on." He stood up and looked down the rail. "Let's get the police."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Dipper and Pacifica were only a few blocks from the police station.

"Dipper, stop the car."

"I will, we're almost there…"

"No, I mean stop it, _NOW._"

"What?" He turned to look at her. He had not seen her face like that since their impromptu race around her mansion, when she was determined to beat him, and easily did so.

He sighed and pulled over two blocks away from the station. He put it in park but left the engine running, and then turned to her.

"Yes boss?" His face was one of resignation.

"I am making a business decision. We're not going to tell the police…yet."

His eyes widened. "What? We know how the vandalism is happening! Are you out of your…"

Squinting her eyes she looked fierce, no, _ruthless._

"Dipper, listen and listen good: if we crack this case alone, we collect the City reward too, fifty thousand dollars, on top of the contract. That's fifty thousand dollars profit."

"Sixty thousand. My expenses are less than seven thousand."

"Mine aren't."

"Oh, yeah. Right."  
"Of course I'm right. We catch this guy ourselves and then tell the City and collect the reward. Bing! Good publicity for SIRDIP, good profit for me…and you, and…"

"And we do the right thing, putting a crook behind bars. Pacifica, shouldn't that be the priority? If we get the police involved, we may not get the reward, but at least we stopped a violent criminal…"

"_NO_. Listen to me or so help me I will dry up your funding faster that a street bum with two dollars for beer."

"Haha! Whaaaaa? Really Pacifica, have you listened to yourself talk?"

"All that is important is for _you_ to listen to me. Got that?"

Dipper sighed and then put the car back in gear, and did a u-turn back to the site.

Pacifica smiled and patted his shoulder.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Wait, why are you stopping? The site is another mile."

"Watch and learn…boss." Dipper put the car in park and then reached behind his car seat and grabbed the volt-ohmmeter.

It wasn't until they got out of the car that Pacifica noticed the rails. "Oh, right."

"Of course I'm right."

Pacifica turned around and glared at Dipper. He was smiling.

She finally smiled at being mocked, and then started walking towards the rails looking straight ahead, her hand reaching out behind her to Dipper.

Dipper handed her the red meter probe and she then kneeled down by the closest rail, then he continued to the farther rail, and also kneeled down, but with the black probe.

"No connection! Open circuit. Back to the car."

They got back in and drove another block and again parked close to the rails, and got out.

"No connection." Again, they went back to the car and drive another block. They repeated this a few more times.

At only a hundred feet before the site they got a reading.

"Eight ohms! This is the break in the rails."

Pacifica stood up from holding the probe and let it swing back to the meter as Dipper also stood up.

"What is the break?"

Dipper wrapped up the probe wires around the meter.

"Whoever it is they can't possibly have a generator or battery big enough to electrify miles of rails, they can only supply power for a short length. The far end by the street and the Mexican Restaurant is one end, and where we are standing is the other end. The other end of the magnet."

"Ah, I see. Then somewhere between the two are the wi…"

_**POP! **_

The meter exploded in Dipper's hands, and the construction workers at the site a hundred feet away were shouting and running. Light bulbs exploded and men were shouting and trying frantically to scrape smoking wristwatches off their arms like they were a venomous spiders.

"DAYTIME ATTACK!" Dipper grabbed Pacifica and pulled her towards the car at a dead run.

Pacifica reached for the car door handle, but Dipper struck her hand away.

"_DON'T TOUCH IT!_ Don't touch any metal! Yet."

Dipper pulled out his leather wallet and used it to open the car door handle. It opened.

"Dipper, wha...?"

"If the current is still there you could be electrocuted!"

"Oh!"

"Yeah."

But the event seemed to be over. The construction workers were now all standing around talking excitedly to each other and picking up their watches off the ground. Some of them were holding cell phones up to their ears and shaking them.

Dipper and Pacifica looked at each other and then reached for their phones at the same time.

"Dead. The microcircuits are fried to a crisp."

Pacifica pouted as she tried to turn on her silver and pink rhinestone encrusted covered phone, and then whined. "Ohhhhh, my phone!" Then she looked up at Dipper and looked very pissed off. "We have GOT to get that bastard! What do we do now?"

Dipper looked at the construction trailer. "This is the first time an attack has happened in broad daylight. Let's go for a walk and then we are going to do some homework."

"A walk? A walk where?"

Dipper began following the rails. He answered her while still scrutinizing the rails.

"A business woman like you should know by now Pacifica: follow the power. Follow the power."

He was looking down at the rails and walking back towards the site.

"The wires." And Pacifica joined him.

…

Dipper and Pacifica reached the other end of the rails, where the cross traffic kept construction from continuing until the day traffic could be rerouted temporarily to allow the final rails to be laid.

"No wires. No cables."

Dipper shook his head. "Seems that way. But appearances can be deceiving."

He started walking quickly towards the construction trailer.

Pacifica quickly jogged up next to him and matched his hurried speed.

_He's on to something. He can smell it!_

"Time for homework?"

"Yes."

They opened the door and went inside.

"Arthur, do you have the infrastructure blueprints for the site?"

"Oh hi! Yes, here. " He opened a wide flat drawer and pulled out some blueprints, and then stretched them out on the large planning table.

"How is the investigation going?"

Dipper began scanning the plans and answered without looking up as Pacifica walked around the large table and stood next to Dipper .

"No luck so far. Still investigating."

Pacifica interjected. "We are making progress Arthur, we think…"

Dipper stepped on her toe.

"Ow!" Indignant she looked at him, his head was still down at the plans, but she could now see him looking sideways at her. _What is he doing?_

"Oh, sorry Pacifica." Now he looked up and facing away from Arthur, he winked at her. She nodded.

"It's…it's ok." Then she too looked down at the blueprints.

The two of them looked and Arthur was still waiting for her to finish.

"We think…it may take longer than we thought."

"What about the progress? You said you were making progress?"

Pacifica stood up and faced the construction superintendent.

"We think maybe, not sure yet, but maybe someone who was evicted might be responsible."

"Ah yes, that makes sense."

"Yes." And she turned to Dipper who looked up from the plans and nodded.

"Uh yes, but there were a lot of people evicted, so progress will be slow…a lot of possibilities."

"I see, well please keep me updated."

"Of course." And Dipper and Pacifica both smiled, and then turned back to the plans.

Pacifica noticed Dipper tracing a parallel set of dotted lines that ran next to the dashed lines representing the railroad. He looked at her and then stood up.

"OK, we're done Arthur, thanks for letting us look. Hope we didn't waste your time.

"Not at all! Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help."

"Thanks. Goodbye."

They left the trailer and began walking towards the car. Pacifica reached out and held his hand.

"Aren't you going to apologize for your crude signaling?"

He turned to her. "Crude?"

"Yes. You could have simply cleared your throat. I'm not stupid."

"Oh. Well then…sorry. Let me make it up to you."

She turned to him but wasn't smiling.

"Not until you explain the difference between the dotted and dashed lines on the blueprints."

He smiled_. I love how quick she is! She is one smart woman, a damn good partner! _

"Underground flood control drains and railroad rails."

She looked at him and pouted.

"Oh _no._ We're not going to…oh _NO. _I'll have to change my shoes!"

"Well, you don't have to come. No one is making you."

She sighed. "Well, at least we'll finally have some privacy. Smelly, but private." And she gave him a naughty little smile. He smiled and then kissed her cheek.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Thanks for buying the new phones boss, we may need to take some pictures."

"I need it for business, not selfies."

Dipper turned to her with a disappointed look. She knew she had him again and smiled.

"I'm kidding. I know we'll need the pictures for evidence." But then she stopped smiling. "Do you really think I would want anyone to see me in a black denim jumpsuit and work boots?"

Dipper smiled. He was wearing the same outfit. "Actually you don't look bad, makes your hair stand out more."

She smiled and then pointed ahead. "There it is, Truslow Avenue."

Dipper parked the rental car on the residential street and then they got out. The evenly spaced row of 1930's vintage homes were interrupted in one place by a chain link fence that stretched across an open flood control ditch, which then disappeared underground a block away into a large concrete tunnel under the neighborhood.

"That's it all right. That's where we're going." Dipper and Pacifica got backpacks from the trunk, which had water bottles on the side, flashlights and extra batteries, and Dipper's tablet instrument running the SIRDIP apps for detecting electromagnetism and other fields.

"First, some prevention." He took out a box of aluminum foil and tore off a sheet, and handed it to Pacifica. Then he tore off another sheet.

Pacifica watched him as he then took out his new cell phone and wrapped it up in the foil. Smiling, she then copied him and wrapped hers up too.

_He is so smart! I knew he was a good gamble!_

They locked up the car and then walked up to the chain link gate.

"Gate's locked. Up and over." Pacifica took multipurpose work gloves out of the backpack and put them on. Then they threw their backpacks over the fence. She grasped the fence and clawed her way to the top, pushing up with her boots and then once on the top edge she jumped down the rest of the way, landing with a crouch, and slowly stood up, picking up the backpack.

_She is pretty strong! I think I'm in love…_

Dipper climbed over too, and with backpacks on they began walking down the side of the concrete gully looking down for a place to slide down into it, and then stepped down the sloped side, gravity quickening their pace so they had to lurch to a stop at the bottom. Then they began following the gully to the tunnel entrance. They reached behind to the side pockets of the packs and took out their flashlights.

As they entered, their footsteps echoed against the walls of the concrete tunnel, everything was amplified. They could even here the echoes of water trickling, there was a small stream of green algae tinted water down the center of the giant pipe.

Their flashlights swiveled back and forth, shining on the roof and sides and ground as they slowly walked through the tunnel. It became darker and darker as they left the entrance behind.

"We should be less than a quarter mile from the rails."

Dipper stopped and handed his flashlight to Pacifica. He was about to take out his tablet.

"Wait."

Dipper looked up at her. "What?"

She said nothing, but slowly stepped close to him and then turned off the flashlights. In the dark he felt her put her hands on his chest. Then he felt her lips on his.

_Each kiss with her is different!_

They had kissed while drunk, kissed when they first met sober, and now…

_In a drainage pipe!_

He felt her gently bite his lower lip and pull away a fraction of an inch, and then cover his mouth with hers, her tongue gently and rapidly licking for entrance. He dropped the backpack and wrapped his arms around her waist, and even through the jumpsuit could feel how soft she was, how yielding and he hugged her closely to him.

Now she was humming into him as they French kissed, she was grabbing the back of his head, her gloves grabbing thick locks of his hair. They broke apart for air and he nosed into her hair searching for her neck, and finding it began sucking and kissing down the side to her shoulder until stopped by the thick low collar of the jumpsuit.

"Ohhhhhh…Dipperrrrrrrrr." Now she leaned forward and kissed his cheek and then his neck, and began nibbling and sucking. He started breathing heavy.

"Wow…Pacifica…do you…do you really like me…for real…?"

She stopped and rubbed noses with him, she was breathing heavy too.

"Yeah…Do you like me too?" Their noses circled each other, passing by each others lips but refraining from kissing, to hear the words, the answer they both wanted to hear.

"Oh yeah, yeah you…you are amazing, and I …I really…"

"Yeah? Really…really what?"

He was breathing heavily and then she heard him swallow.

"I really…"

_HHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! _The flashlights turned on and burnt out in bright white flashes!

A loud low frequency humming reverberated through the tunnel.

_WHAT WAS THAT?_ She grabbed his shoulders, and he held her waist tightly.

"Dipper? What was that!"

_HHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!_

Dipper reached for the backpack and took out his tablet, but he had a bad feeling: he could smell burnt electronics.

"Damn it! Let's go!"

They grabbed their packs and began running down the pipe in the dark…


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Dipper stopped suddenly in the dark, holding Pacifica's hand.

"What? Why are we stopping?"

"The phones! We can use the phone lights."

"But Dipper, they'll get fried."

"I don't think they will, not yet. The attacks don't seem to occur one after another, they are always at least a good twelve to twenty-four hours apart. I think we have time before the next attack."

Dipper felt around inside his backpack for his foil wrapped phone and then pulled it out, and Pacifica pulled hers out about the same time. She was about to unwrap it when Dipper stopped her.

"No, let's keep yours protected as a backup, just in case."

"Right, good idea."

He unwrapped his and then pressed the side button to take it out of screen saver mode and the display lit up the tunnel in a soft eerie blue light.

Holding it up, he could see her clearly for the first time since they kissed. She smiled at him but with a worried look in her eyes. He smiled back.

"Let's go, but slowly."

She nodded, and putting their backpacks on, they began walking down the tunnel.

"We should almost be there."

They started smelling powdered concrete, like heavy construction had happened recently, a strong almost chemical alkali smell, but also…

"Ozone! Do you smell it too?"

"Yes! What does it mean?"

"Electricity. High voltage electricity. That's what makes ozone."  
Now they stepped even more slowly, Dipper waving the phone up and down and side to side, then they saw it:

Protruding through the top of the tunnel were two large metal rods, seemingly coated in some kind of plastic or other insulating material except for the last foot or so of the bottom of the rods. Where it was exposed, the silvery metal end of each rod seemed burnished, not from fire but as if burned from high voltage.

"Dipper! Look!" Pacifica was pointing at the bottom of the pipe: a pair of wet tire tracks, but not that of full size car tires, but something smaller.

"What does it mean?"

Dipper shined the phone light as far as it could go but it faded to darkness quickly, and they could not see where the tracks went.

"That's how he is doing it, he wheels in the capacitor, or..."

Pacifica looked at him in surprise.

"_He?_ Who is he?"

"_ME!"_

Suddenly they were blinded by twin beams of bright white lights!

"_AH!_ What the…?"

Dipper and Pacifica held up their arms across their eyes trying to see.

They could barely make out some kind of vehicle, a…mini-tractor? With someone sitting on it.

_POP! POP!_

Dipper felt two stings in his stomach, and then

_BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!_ He was being _electrocuted_!

"_STUN GUN! PAAAa….AAAAAAAAA!"_

That was all he could say before collapsing in pain on the tunnel floor.

Pacifica screamed, but heard Dipper's last words. She felt one sting near her belt, but not another.

_Aren't there supposed to be two? For plus and minus?_

She allowed herself to collapse, faking being stunned, and screamed again.

"_AAAAAAAA!_"

She convulsed, copying Dippers true anguish as he also flopped, crying as she thought of his pain, but knowing it was up to her now.

_I've got to fake out that bastard!_

She twisted around away from the blinding lights and looked down. By sheer luck one barb of the stun gun had lodged in her backpack strap. Facing away as she pretended to convulse, she grabbed the other barb and pulled it out wincing in real pain as it ripped out of her skin. Right next to her was Dipper's phone that he dropped when he was tasered. She convulsed one last time and grabbed it quickly, and began pressing buttons keeping it close to her belly.

She could no longer hear Dipper screaming and so she too became silent. Then she heard a voice she recognized.

"You two should have kept your nose out of my business. MY business! _MINE_!"

_Arthur! That son of a bitch!_

"I only planned on one more attack to make it look like another motive besides me taking over Gina's job and everyone would have been left alone, but _no!_ You brats had to keep investigating."

_He doesn't know I'm listening to his confession!_ She could hear him get off the tractor, and walk over to Dipper. It sounded like he was tying him up. _I'm next!_

She clenched Dipper's phone tightly at one end, holding it like a dagger, and tensed her arm, still folded together with her legs under her chest as she lay in a fetal position. Then she saw Arthur's foot step next to her, his other next to her back as he straddled her in preparation to tie up her hands.

_THOCK!_ She thrust her foot up and out into his crotch with explosive force!

"AAAAAAARGGGGGG!" Arthur fell backwards and collapsed on the ground, and she leapt up jumping, landing on his neck with her boot. He made a loud choking noise as he tried to shout, then he tried to grab her foot, but she swung the tightly held phone down to the side of his head, right on the temple.

_CRACK!_

The phone plastic splintered and she could see blood flying as the shards sliced his face. He rolled away covering his face, and tried to get up on hands and knees, but she swung her other boot back and then forward swiftly into his head, with all the strength her running strength could muster.

_THOCK!_

His head whiplashed back and his whole body twirled sideways as he fell flat on his back, arms and legs splayed out. He was knocked out and bleeding.

"Now we'll see how _YOU_ like being tied up!"

…

"OUCH!"

"Sorry sweetheart, it's the only way to get the taser barbs out."

"Ow…it's …it's OK." Dipper was sitting down in the tunnel, catching his breath, his body reeling from muscle pain from the stun.

He looked around: Pacifica had tied up Arthur and propped him up against one wall of the tunnel,

and then there was the tractor: it's mechanical arms were not holding a bulldozer shovel, but instead holding a giant horizontal silver cylinder with rods on each end.

"So I was right: he used a giant capacitor, tractored it in after it was charged, and simply had to hold it next to the rods, that go up to the rails to initiate the attack."

Pacifica smiled at him, still kneeling next to him, and then helped him stand. It was then that he noticed her phone.

"You unwrapped it."

"Only after I kicked his butt, to call the police."

As if on cue they heard footsteps coming down the tunnel and flashlights.

"Who's there? Hands up!"

Pacifica smiled and nodded to Dipper. He turned and answered.

"SIRDIP Investigations. We were the ones who called you."

…

The plane had entered level flight, and now cocktails were being served in the first class section.

"Champagne please, for both of us."

"Yes ma'am."

Pacifica turned to Dipper as he was updating his report on his new tablet.

"Well? Update. Now."

He handed the tablet over to her and let her read it. She kept reading as she discussed it with him.

"So it took him time to recharge the capacitor, that's why they never followed one after another."

"Right. And he had tapped into the rails from underground using the rods, that's why we never found cables above."

"He almost got away with it."

"Almost: everyone blamed evicted homeowners, and the fact that the attacks continued after he took over her job would have been a good alibi. If they had stopped after he got the six figure salary he would have been a suspect."

She handed the tablet back to him, then checked her new phone.

"The reward deposit just showed up." She smiled and turned to him. "Well done Dipper. I think you have earned a bonus."

"Yes! Uh…how much?"

"I think a more accurate question would be how long."

"How…long? We're not talking about money any more are we?"

She lowered her eyes, and wrapped her arms around his, and whispered into his ear.

"There are things more important than money."

Dipper smiled. "You can't get out of paying me a cash bonus that easy boss."

She pushed away from him, disgust in her face. "_Oh!_ Humph! You don't know what you're missing!"

He grabbed her and pulled her to him, and kissed her as she tried to push him away. With one hand he held her head to his and with the other held her shoulder. He kept his lips on hers and could feel her frown slowly conform to a kiss until finally he felt her hands around him. Then he broke off the kiss and leaned back, but not too far back.

"I never said no. I just want the money too."

Pacifica smiled. "I like the way you think." And she kissed him again.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 1 – SIRDIP 2: The Spirits of Big Sur

Sunsets in the national park were always beautiful, but this summer evening the purples and golds were brilliant, large swaths of colors from the reds of approaching sunset to the dark blues of dusk in the East.

Park Ranger Dan Madison didn't mean to be so far past La Carpa Springs on foot this close to dusk, as this meant he would have to hike back to the jeep in the dark, but he was still in radio contact with the rest of the search party, and the fresh footprints in the trail dust of the teenagers drove him onward since he now knew he was close to finding them. It had been three hours since their last, interrupted cell phone call and it was now presumed their battery was dead, but it was enough to get the searchers close enough to have a chance of finding the kids in a forest almost two million square miles in size.

A burst of radio static and then headquarters called.

"Madison, report your 10-20."

He reached up to his left shoulder and squeezed the button on the radio microphone secured there to his park uniform.

"Madison here, about quarter mile past La Carpa Spring, two sets of fresh footprints, I think it's them! Continuing."

"Negative Madison, it's getting dark. Return to your vehicle, will send air surveillance. Confirm!"

He ignored the radio when he saw them: two teen boys both on their backs, apparently unconscious, one of them still holding his cell phone. Odd: the cell phone display was still on, they still had battery power. He rushed to their side and knelt down, checking each one for a pulse on their necks.

"Still alive!" He reached for the microphone but stopped:

Against the darkening scene in front of him he saw a gentle glowing light suddenly illuminating the boys and himself from above, and still kneeling, he looked up. His eyes grew wide as his mouth dropped open.

Hovering above him was a string of glowing globes of different sizes, shimmering, dimming and brightening in the cool misty air as dusk began to spread. A chain of yellowish glowing spheres that spanned the trail, and now he was getting a splitting headache for some reason. He looked down at the boys and saw them twitch, and grabbed his microphone.

"11-99! 11-99! 10-78! Help!" His head hurt so bad now that he fell on his back, still clutching the radio and now his whole body could feel a tingling sensation.

"11-99. Help…" Then he blacked out.

…

"Who better to send to a forest than a Pines!" Pacifica laughed as she floated in her lavish swimming pool, air mattress arms holding her iced tea as well as her tanned self, white bikini making her tan seem even darker. But Dipper couldn't see her eyes behind the Ray-Ban sunglasses, and her sun bleached hair covered her eyebrows. He didn't like it when he couldn't read her face.

"Pacifica, it isn't a laughing matter. People are being stunned and yet at the same time attracted to the 'floating Indian spirit' legend, which means more people are going to get lost or even killed trying to find whatever it is out there, trying to be the first to capture a picture of it."

"Instead of _you_ being the first, The Great Dipper Pines." She smirked to let him know she was teasing him, but now his face became sour, and he looked away trying to hide his feelings. She let go of her smirk.

Pacifica knew Dipper by now. His real concern was that she was sending him into danger without seeming to care about what happened to him. She knew how to handle this only insecurity of his that put a damper on his otherwise usually attractive courage. She paddled her way over to the side of the pool where he stood by the pool edge in his blue jeans, top sider shoes (with_out_ socks, this was as close to "pool side" fashion as he would allow) and his tired old oxford shirt, sleeves rolled up exposing his hairy, well-toned forearms.

Still reclining on her air mattress she reached out and patted the top of his shoe when she reached the edge, and then massaged his ankle from her place in the pool at ground level to him.

"Dipper, I worried about you last time didn't I? And it was a good thing I did too, because you needed me." When she saw him look down in thought she knew he was prepped.

"Do you want me to go with you?" It was a serious and gentle question.

He looked up suddenly, with determination.

"No, I can handle it myself…_boss_."

"Oh Dip, I didn't mean for it to sound that way, honest. Really…"and her hand began rubbing up his calf, pushing up his jeans. "…I want to go with you. Really."

"Well…"

Suddenly she grabbed his pant leg and pushing against the side of the pool with her feet pulled him into the water!

"AAAAAGGGGHHHHH!"

_SPLASH!_

She laughed, face up to the sun. But then her mattress was lifted up and capsized, sending her into the water, Ray-Bans and all.

"AAAAAA!" She spouted water as she surfaced, blue eyes blinking now that the sunglasses were at the bottom of Davy Jones Locker, blonde hair covering her head like a wet mop.

"Ha! Serves you right!" and he splashed water at her as she was still trying to recover, turning around to find him. With tight lips she started splashing back at him as he now began advancing towards her, strides slowed by the water resistance, arms reaching out. She realized splashing him wouldn't slow him down and so turned around and dove underwater, swimming away frogman style.

She popped up in the corner of the pool and reached up to grab the sides and lift herself out, but he caught up with her surface swimming the breast stroke, and grabbed her hips and pulled her back down, laughing.

She turned around frowning, and pushed his chest away, but he leaned in and with her cornered was able to steal a kiss, first from one cheek, then the other as she turned from side to side trying to deny him her lips.  
But now he had her securely in the corner, his arms around her. Since she kept her lips away he began kissing her neck, nibbling and sucking. Now she relaxed and grabbed his wet hair, kissing him with her lips in final surrender. She then stopped and pulled away, looking at him with lowered eyes.

"Let me come with you, kay?"

He smiled. "After you pay for a new pair of shoes."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 2 SIRDIP2

"Here ya go Dip, I think I got any chlorine smell out. Next time you know you're going near her pool just wear swim trunks haha!" Mabel dropped his folded pants and shirt on her brother's bed, and then flicked her long wavy brown hair to the side. She was dressed for hot summer nights too in lime terry PJ shorts and a matching terry tank top, little yellow pineapples patterned across each.

"Mmmkay." Dipper mumbled while chewing his pencil, hunched over the keyboard and staring at the monitor screen.

Mabel stood there with arms folded and stared at her brother.

_He is still staring at the same screen he was looking at before I went downstairs to wash his clothes. He is in his mind again somewhere, not researching. He usually only does that when…_She got an idea.

"And maybe some scuba gear too."

"MMMyeahohkay…"

"…and a seeing eye mermaid…"

"Good idea…"

"Pacifica's here."

The pencil fell out of his mouth as he turned around.

"She is?" he stood up in his PJ's and grabbed his clothes off the bed and started running out the door to the bathroom, clothes in one hand and the other feeling his five o'clock shadow.

"HOLD ON Romeo! I'm kidding!" Mabel grabbed his arm as he ran past her and she gently pushed him down onto the bed.

He stopped and looked up at her and frowned.

"What? Why? No fair Mabel, no fair." And he dropped his clothes beside him on the bed.

Mabel smiled and sat next to her brother.

"I know you like Paz but sheesh! You were daydreaming about her huh? She must have been wearing a thong today haha!" and she gently elbowed him in the side.

"What? Where do you get these ideas? Gawd Mabel I'm…I'm trying to plan a serious plan of attack here and you're…you're distracting me!" and he stood up and went back to the computer desk and chair, turning his back her.

_She knows me too well. I never saw …that much skin on her before today… on her…wow…skin…_

Mabel smiled. "Sorry brobro. Go back to your…plan of attack! Ha! Maybe attack from the rear heehee! Or a pincer movement!" and she reached over and pinched his side by his waist.

Dipper turned around and threw a sock at her.

"Hey, I just folded that! Huh! See if I wash your clothes again!" but she was smiling and made it clear she was teasing him. "Bye Romeo, good luck with the plan! Remember, attack from the rear!" and she turned around to go downstairs to start cooking dinner as she noticed the other sock hitting the wall by the door and flopping to the floor.

_He is still a virgin. And Paz told me she is too. I've never seen Dipper this close to cracking…he is gonna make a move soon, I just know it! _And Mabel smiled as she walked into the kitchen, singing a tune.

"Someone's in the kitchen with Diiiiii-per…Someone's in the kitchen I knooooowwwwww…."

…

Dipper tried to focus again on the computer screen.

_There is no legend among the Coastanoan Indian tribes about floating spirits of light. Only the traditional sun and moon spirits, wind and rain_…_maybe fire giving by the bears, bears that were once people? _

Something tickled the back of his mind, but he couldn't figure out what it was trying to tell him…

_The men of the tribe would go into the forest and dance and chant, then the shaman would give his advice and guidance to the tribe leaders…but no floating lights, no glowing spheres…What is going on there…?_

He glanced at the time. _Only a few hours left before bedtime, better finish travel arrangements._

His phone chimed. _Text Message_. It was from Pacifica.

_Agency confirmed tickets ready at airport. Limo will pick you up at six AM, don't be late, flight is at eight-thirty. See you tomorrow! XO_

He smiled. He replied.

_OK OX_

It was convenient having a wealthy boss. He switched off the computer and then went downstairs for dinner.

…

"Humph. 'OK OX'. He really needs to work on his communication skills." _I know he meant hug-kiss but it looks like he said 'OK you ox'! THAT is why one should use XO instead of OX._

But Pacifica still smiled as she recalled Dipper when he first walked up to her by the pool.

_He stared for a full minute with his mouth open before saying a word haha! My poor adorably lovesick boy. I am SO glad I bought that Fendi swimsuit! _

Then she began recalling the rest of him…from the neck down. _After I pulled him in, his wet shirt stuck to him… so… well_…She began humming as she planned which clothes to pack for a forest excursion. _Louis Vuitton sunglasses…LOWA Khumbu II hiking shoes…and what are the tightest jeans I have…hmmmmm…_

_And of course…lipstick…_

…

He was floating, flying above the forest treetops…without anything but his arms and legs…flying fast over Gravity Falls…and he came to Northwest Mansion.

_There…there's the pool…_he lowered his altitude until spread eagle he was hovering over the water…over _her_.

She was floating without anything beneath her, her hourglass figure not making so much as a ripple in the water as brilliant sunlight reflected all around her, her white bikini unblemished but for her nipples raised through the bikini top covering her modest bosom, her swimsuit bottom mere threads at her hips and between her legs…little left to his imagination…

Her lips parted as she lifted her sunglasses up and off, her eyelids lowered as she gazed up at him.

"Dipper, you came back!"

He lowered himself further until he was just above her. He could feel her beneath him now, and was about to kiss her, but as she wrapped her arms around him she began shaking his shoulders back and forth.

"Dipper!"

"Whaaaa? Pacifica, what are you doing…?"

"Dipper, wake up! The limo's here!"

"Whaaaa…?"

He sat up and squinted at his sister as he rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"Ugh." He smacked his lips. "OK OK I'm up, I'm up. Thanks."

Mabel smiled.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 3 SIRDIP 2

"Flying first class is going to ruin our profit!" Dipper's tone and face were _not_ happy as he settled into the wide leather chair next to the window. Pacifica loaded her carryon into the overhead compartment, and shut it, then dropped her large purse onto the floor in front of her seat and then with her foot pushed it over and under the seat in front of her, and sat down too, crossing her blue jeaned covered legs.

"Dipper, I know business and the numbers support it. I'm the one with the undergraduate degree in business, and I'll have my MBA in 2 more years. Do you want me to explain it to you?"

"Anyone knows that $400 a seat is cheaper than $1400 a seat. Times two that is $2000 needlessly wasted. It will take me longer to earn back the half million!"

Pacifica buckled her seat belt and then turned to face Dipper and patted his knee. "Ah but you forget the free drinks!" She smiled to press the joke but he frowned and looked out the window.

The flight attendant came to them. Pacifica knew the routine.

"Speaking of drinks Dipper, coffee? Juice? Bloody Mary?"

Dipper turned to Pacifica and then looked up to the attendant. "Uh…Kahlua and coffee please."

Pacifica tilted her head. "Oooh classy choice!" She turned to the flight attendant. "I'll have the same, with a dash of milk."

"Very good , I'll be right back with those. May I bring you a paper?"

Pacifica nodded. "Wall Street Journal please." She turned to Dipper who was staring out the window. She turned back to the attendant. "…and bring him the San Jose Mercury news."

Dipper turned around looking slightly insulted, thick brown eyebrows furrowed, lips tight.

"Please Pacifica, I'm not a child."

She knew him well though. In thirty minutes he would want something to read, and the other passengers will have claimed the papers leaving him nothing.

"Sorry Dip, I'll just put it in the seat pocket in front of you." She gently touched the blue sleeve on his forearm. "Let me explain the numbers, ok? Please?"

He didn't say anything but looked down at the floor and nodded.

"You are doing _very _well, in fact you are exceeding expectations. This job is thirty thousand, and together with the last job the total revenue for SIRDIP is eighty thousand. That is sixteen percent of the half million made back in just two jobs and in one month! Only six or seven more jobs and in less than a year we will have made the money back, not only like you said but in half the time! And that assumes we don't raise the prices, your reputation is building and the SIRDIP brand is becoming valuable. That means everything in the second plan year is gravy! I think out of a future profit of $500,000 in the second year we can afford two thousand for comfort. And that comfort is important: you can't focus your creativity and intelligence on solving a difficult problem if you have someone kicking you in the back while flying coach."

The attendant returned with drinks and papers. Dipper reached forward for his drink, but when Pacifica tried to place the paper in his front seat pocket, he grabbed it too. She let go and smiled.

"Well…you may have a point there."

She patted his forearm again as he opened the paper. "Numbers don't lie Dip." But she knew it also stroked his ego and helped him calm down to enjoy the flight.

_He can't start thinking about us romantically if he is mad at me._

…

"A Range Rover? Pacifica really, you are spending all of our profit!"

"Dipper, this rental meets the requirements for off-roading in the forest. You want a cheap compact to get stuck in the first dirt road chuckhole?"

"No, I suppose you're right." They loaded up his equipment and sleeping bags into the back and got in, Dipper driving. They rolled down the power windows to enjoy the summer air, and pulled out of the rental lot and onto the airport exit road.

"First off let's stop and get some water bottles and snacks."

"Now you're thinking ahead!"

Dipper turned to her a little miffed at her comment at first, but… when he saw her blue eyes looking ahead behind the Ray Ban sunglasses, blonde hair blowing in the wind, oversize white tee with faded American flag on the front, tan left shoulder exposed by both the tee and blue and white plaid shirt that left her bra strap exposed, and her hips in skin tight jeans bouncing in the seat from the road vibration, he relaxed and smiled at his partner.

_We have sleeping bags in the back. And we're going into the woods, alone…_

His heart started pounding…

…

Dipper found himself staring at Pacifica more and more as they began driving along the Pacific Coast Highway. The blue ocean was sparkling on this rare clear day, blue sky matching her eyes, and salty sea air the most amazing perfume. She turned to him and he looked back at the road so as not to be seen staring. But she knew, and smiled.

"Isn't it beautiful Dip? We should stop and take pictures!"

"OK." He pulled over at a lookout point. There were several other cars there already, tourists with cameras out, and posing.

They got out of the car and walked up to a short stone wall, and gazed out at the vast expanse of ocean before them, seagulls circling effortlessly beyond the cliff above the water and waves. Standing side by side Dipper took her hand.

"The beautiful Pacific." He turned to her, and she looked back at him, reaching back and brushing her wind blow hair from her face, the sunlight bright enough for him to see her open eyes behind the sunglasses. "Pacifica, your parents named you well."

"Aw, thanks." She leaned towards him and taking his other hand she gently pressed her soft lips against his. He let go of her hands and wrapped his arms around her waist and then parted from the kiss, but kept very close to her face.

"Beautiful Pacifica." He rubbed noses, circling hers , and then he kissed her again. He felt her hands on his neck and shoulders, and then…he felt her licking his lips.

He opened his mouth and tasted her too, and as she moaned in delight he felt the vibration of her happy humming harmonize within his own throat, and he hummed back, moaning in pleasure of kissing a beautiful girl. Now she pressed herself against him and lowered her hands to his back and sides.

_If she is …feeling me, then it will be OK if I …feel…her…_

He lowered his hands to her butt and began rubbing her rear and hips. She broke off the kiss but kept close. She whispered and her words raised his blood pressure.

"Oh Dipper…I can't wait for tonight…"

He inhaled deeply, smelling the ocean, smelling her…

"Neither can I..." And he kissed her again.

As they parted to breathe, Pacifica reached for her back pocket.

"Selfie! I want to remember this forever."

With arms around each other's waist, the blue Pacific behind them she reached out with the phone and snapped a few pictures. Then they both looked at the picture, leaned against each other as they saw themselves together: a happy couple, both smiling, cheek to cheek, and looking very much in love.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 - SIRDIP 2

Pacifica just had to stop the jeep when they came across the waterfall known as Pfeiffer Falls.

It was the first waterfall Dipper had ever seen besides Gravity Falls. Pacifica had seen Niagara Falls, and The Seven Sacred Pools in Maui, and to both of them it was far smaller, tiny even but still, in this setting surrounded by forest and birds and in seclusion with only themselves, it had a glorious and serene magic all its own. Long tall streams cascaded down moss covered rock, three main streams with many smaller streams splashed into the small pond at the bottom, a pond surrounded by ferns and trees and sunbeams that managed to find their way through the forest canopy.

They both got out of the car and then meeting in front of the Rover they held hands and walked towards the falls.

"Oh Dipper, its beautiful. Did you know it's named after…"

"Julia Pfeiffer Burns, the naturalist explorer. Yes, I know." And he turned to her and smiled. Pacifica smiled back and leaned towards him and kissed him briefly on the cheek.

"You're so intelligent and well read."

"It takes intelligence to know intelligence." And he kissed her back, on the lips briefly. But then he was concerned, lips pursed tightly together. She leaned back and looked at him.

"What's wrong?" Now her brows furrowed to match his own as her blue eyes searched his brown ones. He looked away as he answered, searching the top of the falls.

"It makes me wonder…how can something sinister lurk in such a beautiful place?"

Pacifica glanced at the falls then back to him with determination.

"We're not near the danger zone yet…nothing dangerous has happened here. We're still about an hour away, so let's enjoy this beautiful place now, kay?" and she smiled as she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. But she could tell that he was not convinced, his lips lacking enthusiasm, so she turned up the heat…

Dipper felt her begin to nibble his lips with her own and at the same time felt her hands rubbing his back, then reaching down his sides as she traced his hips. She pressed her chest against his, and now she began licking him.

He began to relax, and answered her licks with his own, and he too reached around her, exploring her figure with his broad strong hands.

They began to sway back and forth in each other's arms, and now he thought she was stopping, for she released her hold on him, and reached around to grab his hands as if to remove them from her body, but to his surprise she moved them down to her bottom.

_That _got his attention, and now she succeeded in getting him into the present.

He could feel her smile through the kiss as he squeezed her butt. He smiled too then drew back and looked into her eyes through relaxed, half closed lids. Her blonde hair glinted where the sunbeams caught it, and the green background framed and softened her normally competitive and determined expression. _I wonder what it would be like to make love to her outdoors, next to a waterfall?_

They were about to kiss again when a loud diesel charter bus made its presence known. It could not drive up to where they drove the Range Rover, but its arrival heralded the appearance of tourists who would soon hike up the trail here and rob them of the privacy that until now had been romantic and full of possibility.

Pacifica sighed and then pulling him by the hand turned around and walked back to the Rover.

"Back to work."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 5 – SIRDIP 2: The Spirits of Big Sur

The SIRDIP team pulled off the Pacific Coast Highway at Coast Ridge Road, and drove past the tourist restaurants and shops, heading for the North Ridge Coast Ranger Station.

They gradually approached nature's country, paved streets giving way to a wide dirt road, and brilliant orange California poppies dominated the landscape, leaving only swaths of green in between, the tall pine trees trying to rise above the overpopulated flowers to share their dark green with the blue skies above.

The ranger station looked like little more than a woodsman's shack; old decayed roof shingles showing saplings growing on them, and the riot of orange poppies growing right up to the cabin and surrounded the dirt parking lot.

Pacifica smiled as she got out of the Rover and instantly held up her camera phone to take pictures and video.

"Oh Dipper, it's beautiful!"

Dipper smiled as he got out and then opened the back door to get his notebook, he had some questions for the rangers, but first…

"Pacifica, turn around."

She did and saw that he was going to take her picture against the blooming landscape. She smiled, and his phone clicked.

"The flowers don't stand a chance."

She slowly stepped up to him and rewarded him with a brief kiss, and then whispered.

"Thanks. Now both of us this time."

She reached around his waist as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and then he took the selfie.

"OK, let's get to work."

They were both wearing boots and the heavy shoes announced their entrance with thuds and squeaking timbers of the wood floor.

…

"Follow the North Coast Ridge Road to Cold Springs. It's a forest road. Halfway to Cold Springs is Logwood campground. Turn south onto the trail there to La Carpa Springs, but you won't be able to drive all the way there, you'll have to go on foot about quarter mile south. That's where our Ranger Dan went on foot too and found the boys before…you know what happened right? You know it's dangerous?"

Dipper stood tall and put on a fearless face.

"Yes, of course, that's why we're here."

The ranger turned his gaze from Dipper and then looked at Pacifica, with obvious doubt of her ability.

"Don't let my manicured nails fool you. I'm a black belt." And she smiled.

He nodded.

"OK, if you say so. Here, take these."

The ranger opened a drawer and took out two walkie talkies.

"They have a 5 to 10 mile range. Use channel nine, we monitor it."

"Channel nine, got it."

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

…

The rover bounced along the dirt road as Dipper drove as fast as the chuckholes and gravel would allow. They had passed the last campground a half hour ago. The road became narrow with shrubs and timber encroaching both sides, scratching the paint on the SUV as it pushed ahead.

"Dipper, what do you think is happening? How should we probe this problem without exposing ourselves to the same risk as the victims?"

"The lights may be ball lightning, if they are then my RF detector will show static long before we get within the danger zone. But…" and his brows furrowed in thought.

"But what?"

"But if it isn't electrical in nature, if the lights are…" and he looked at Pacific in the eyes and then turned back to watching the road "…hallucinations…we won't have any advance warning."

She didn't miss a beat.

"But if they're hallucinations wouldn't we feel other symptoms first? Maybe quickened heartbeat, cold sweats, digestive discomfort…"

Dipper rewarded her with a smile. She almost felt butterflies at his gaze.

"Yes. If the experience has a pharmacological source, then we will have multiple symptoms showing prior to the late stages of hallucinations. But the problem with that is…"

"The victims had negative blood tests for toxins."

"Right. They all recovered and had no residual problems except nausea and some muscle pain."

"So we are back to an unknown phenomena."

"Phenomenon. Yes."

Pacifica looked straight ahead, lost in thought. Dipper glanced at her again and grinned. It didn't escape him that she now learned to ignore his little corrections to the areas of science and academia where she was weaker than he. But it impressed him more that she could really focus when she wanted to, to analyze a problem and concentrate. Her experience in critical thinking was more from a business and political background than from his scientific method training, but ultimately it was the same train of thought, the same driving curiosity that made her so compatible and had eventually won his respect years ago. _**I will never find another woman like her again.**_

"Watch out!"

Dipper turned back to the road and slammed on the breaks, and spun the wheel hard to the right to avoid the gully that dissolved the road from an earlier rain.

_**BAM!**_

The rover tilted forward with rear wheels lifting off the road and then bounced back down with a violent shudder that shook the whole vehicle as a cloud of dust briefly obscured the windshield view. Dipper blinked rapidly then turned to his passenger.

"You OK!"

"Yeah!" She had to readjust the shoulder belt off her breast and winced a little.

He turned off the engine and unbuckled himself, and opened the door. She did the same and hopped out. She saw it first as it was on her side.

"The wheel doesn't look right. Is it supposed to be at that angle?"

"No, it isn't." Dipper took off his wool fedora and wiped his forehead. He saw what had been the center part of the wheel still bolted with lug nuts while the outer part of the rim with the tire was no longer one piece but at an angle lodged in the crack in the road. The outer wheel had cracked and separated from the inner part.

"Should we call the rangers?"

Dipper looked around. "We are within a mile of the last event. It will take the rangers probably an hour to get here, and we have a spare tire anyway. But since we only have two hours of daylight I would rather get to the place first while we can still see and look around first. I can always use the flashlight to change the wheel later. Let's get the backpacks and equipment and go."

"OK."

They put on their packs and then grabbed the RF detector, spectrometer, gas detector and other electronics and then locked up the rover and then continued down the road.

…

The walkie talkie crackled to life.

"Sierra Delta, Sierra Delta, what's your 10-20?"

Pacifica took her talkie of her belt hook and held it up to her lips.

"Copy Base. We are approximately half mile south of Logwood camp. Vehicle disabled: broken front wheel. Will replace with spare after reconnaissance. Over."

Dipper smiled at her. "Not bad."

She smiled back and winked. "I was a dispatcher for one of our warehouse distribution centers one summer."

They kept hiking down the road and now the forest was encroaching more and more and the shrubs and trees were taller and taller. The sun was below the treetops now and the shadows long.

"We must be getting close. My Pebble watch says we've walked seven tenths of a mile. Should we turn on the sensors?"

"Yes." Dipper pulled out the RF detector first. He turned it on and then clipped it onto his belt. Then he turned on the gas meter and checked the gauge. "Negative." He looked up at her.

She turned on the spectrometer. "Nitrogen and oxygen normal. CO2 normal."

They kept walking but a little slower now, straining to hear as if they thought there would be some audible clue. They smelled, looked, listened, all senses on alert as they kept in the back of their minds the fact that all victims reported sudden headaches and muscle pain and weakness before seeing the lights, the globes of fuzzy, dancing illumination that was the last thing they saw before losing consciousness.

Dipper stopped. "Something's happening." Pacific jumped over to his side and looked at the RF meter.

Then she looked up and around and in back of them. She held up the gas meter. "No change. Oh…wait…"

Dipper grabbed the gas meter from her. "Trace amounts of…" and he sniffed.  
They slowly started walking forward looking rapidly from side to side. Pacifica felt for her walkie talkie again just to make sure it was there.

They were in the middle of the dirt road, or actually more of a trail now, but the sun was below the mountains and the tall trees looked ominous as they blocked out what little light was left.

Pacific stopped. She could almost swear she could hear something.

"Dipper…"

"Yeah, I feel it too."

"Feel? I was going to ask if you could hear it."

"Hear? Hear what?"

Now she grabbed his arm. "Should we keep going?" _**What is that hissing noise? It is fainter than the radios in the Fullerton crime. This isn't electrical, it's …it's…**_

Dipper took another step. Then looked at her.

"Do you feel…anything? The tingling?"

_Tingling! Tingling! That's it!_

"Yes! I …I thought it as a hissing but…_it's my body_!"

Dipper looked around nervously. Pacific did too then looked back at the equipment.

"Dipper! The RF meter wavelength…isn't that…isn't that…" The needle jumped.

She stopped because she saw Dipper's mouth wide open, he was staring…she turned to look…

She inhaled sharply as the dimly glowing light appeared.

Dipper grabbed his phone and was going to take a picture but when he looked at the phone display…

Pacifica saw it too: the phone display had a swirling, mesmerizing and almost psychedelic lightshow of rainbows and waves, Dipper couldn't have found the camera button if he wanted to. She grabbed her phone from her back jeans pocket and the same multicolored swirling display was flashing on her phone too.

They both looked up at the lights that were growing brighter as the sun set.

At first they appeared to be individual spheres of lights, luminescent globes with swirling and shifting patterns, but as it grew darker they could see they were the brighter part of a continuous band of light that crossed the road perpendicular from waist high to about six feet. It was a wall of light blocking the road.

The brighter parts of the band of light were spherical, floating from right to left and then left to right, colliding into each other and passing through each other, amplifying and then dimming, then entire band fluctuating in brightness…

And then as Dipper looked back at the RF detector where Pacifica was pointing, his head began to _hurt_.

Pacifica stopped pointing and instead now held her hand to her head.

"Dipper!"

"I know! Let's run back to the Rover!"

They turned around and ran, Pacific slightly ahead of Dipper but she would slow down and grab his arm to pull him along, both of them holding their heads. She wanted to run her best but…_Dipper!_

"The tingling!"

"Yeah! Keep running!"

Dipper turned around one more time to see the brightening light shimmering and shifting, and then he tripped and fell..


End file.
